Discipline / Punishment

I think children must be disciplined appropriately; however I do not believe 'punishment' is an effective way to do it. In my mind punishment is a harsh disciplinary technique which includes detention, standing in the corner or writing lines. I think punishment is an authoritative approach which does not teach children it is alright to makes mistakes. Instead a more efficient approach of discipline would have to be positive/negative reinforcement, which teaches children to take ownership of his/her decisions. As we all know, it is very important to establish rules together as a class so students understand what behavior is not okay. However, I also think students should help establish suitable consequences/options for when the rules are broken. According to B&S, it is important to create choices for students that misbehave because it forces the student "to figure out his response [which] gives him more responsibility." (pg. 249) I wish I had knowledge of this strategy during my short practicum in a grade 1 class because I was never given any direction when it came to disciplinary methods. I witnessed my SA send students to their desks to count to 30 (kind of like a time out), which I felt had no relevance to the behavior. She also raised her voice and took table points away. As you can imagine I felt clueless as to handle a situation when a student/students misbehaved. As a result I wasted a lot of valuable learning time by talking in circles trying to correct inappropriate behavior. I had a hard time taking disciplinary action because I did not know appropriate methods for grade 1 students. At one point I sent a student out into the hall after giving him 2 warnings because I felt I had no choice. And of course I was criticized for doing so, but I honestly did not know what my options were. I was very hesitant to come down on the class because I really wanted them to like me. I learned very quickly that with this approach I'd never get anything accomplished. So, at least I learned that students don't have to like me they just have to respect me. And I know they did because they begged me not to go at the end of my practicum :)